Everlight
by EiseiNoMuzai
Summary: A powerful angel is dead- slain in the middle of Heaven, his soul inexplicably gone. All signs point to Laen, a demon lord who controls a vast army, as his killer. Evra, the angel's daughter, has vowed revenge against this demon. But for such a daunting task, she'll need help from the very creatures she so despises. Can their unlikely team overcome the challenges that lie ahead?
1. Chapter 1: Catalyst

_**Everlight**_

Hey, look, it's a new fanfiction! I've been brainstorming ideas for Everlight for quite a while now, so this is one of the few stories I've ever written where I've got the whole thing planned out from start to finish, before I even start. … The only thing I haven't planned out that well is the title. Everlight is its temporary title, because it sounds cool, but has very little to do with anything other than "Ever" sounding like the main character's name, "Evra." If anyone has any ideas for a better title, please drop me a review to let me know.

A few words of warning- if you follow my other fanfiction, you've probably noticed how slow my updates are. Now that school is out, I've got more time on my hands, but I have quite a few other things to do. I'll do my best to update as quickly as possible, but it will probably still be kind of slow. Please try to be patient. Also, this fanfiction is OC-centric. As in, none of the canon characters show up until later on. So, um… If you came here looking for Sebastian and Ciel, you'll have to be REALLY patient.

Anyway. This fanfiction is set in modern times (perhaps a decade or two into the future, actually.) Because of this, none of the mortal canon characters will be showing up, because… well… they're long gone. The main character is an angel. Because there was only one angel in the original series, so I had very little information to work with, I pretty much just winged it with what their species is like. (Ehehe… Punny.) Also, settings in this story will include Earth, Heaven, and Hell. These are depicted the way they are solely for the purpose of the story. No offense is intended to any religion. And I think I'm done with my long intro now. NOTE- I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters.

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**Chapter One: Catalyst**

Calm.

This feeling was part of the reason why she loved flight: the sensation of tranquility lulling her into a waking sleep as she drifted high above the ground. She spread her snowy white wings and allowed herself to be buoyed upward on a warm updraft, eyes comfortably closed, long blonde hair streaming behind her. She didn't need to see the brilliantly shining sky, the delicate clouds rolling slowly through the air around her. This was her home; it had always been the same, and it would always _stay_ the same. It was unspeakably vast, larger than even she could comprehend, but she knew her own little segment of it very well. The wonders of Heaven had ceased to awe her; she took it all for granted, as did most of the other angels. The only thing she'd never taken for granted was her wings- she was immensely grateful for the beautiful power of flight that she possessed.

Now, as she soared high over the distant ground, she opened her ocean-blue eyes and took in her surroundings; she was close to her father's preferred meditation spot. _Marael told Father that he would drop by and fill him in once he got back from his scouting trip to Earth,_ she reflected idly. _I wonder if he's returned yet…? I suppose I could ask Father, while I'm here… _She took a moment to shake herself into awareness before she tilted her wings and set off at a smooth glide towards the glimmering forest below.

And then she felt something… off.

She hesitated, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she approached the forest. What was this sensation? She knew that she'd felt it before, but she couldn't quite place it now. It reminded her vaguely of one of the many times she'd visited Earth with her father, and had stood in a field just before a thunderstorm. It had been very quiet, but the skies were dark, and the atmosphere charged with tension, with power… The calm before the storm. This felt similar, and it made her strangely uneasy. _What am I so worried about?_ She thought to herself scornfully as she skimmed along the ground, watching the treeline draw nearer. _There's nothing dangerous here. This isn't Earth. _Still, she found herself scanning the area warily as she landed lightly on her feet, just under the enormous trees, and began to walk.

The forest was quiet, but then, it was always quiet. The vegetation was lush and pretty, and the tree leaves shimmered faintly as though coated with dew. And yet, as she headed towards the small lake her father loved so much, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. She knew that she'd felt this before somewhere, somewhere other than a meadow before a storm. What _was_ it? This atmosphere of power, of danger… This-

-_aura…_

The realization hit her when she was only a few steps away from the lakeside clearing. _An aura… A demonic aura! That's where I've felt this before- that's what this is. _ She looked around, her face as pale as her wings. _But, that's impossible! There's no way a demon could be here- demons can't get into Heaven. They don't know the way in, and even if they did, the holy barrier would prevent them from entering… _After a moment, she took the last few steps into the clearing, troubled.

And there she stopped dead.

The once-beautiful, crystalline waters of the lake were stained a cloudy red, and streaks of crimson were smeared across the grass throughout the entire clearing. In the center of the tainted meadow, face-down on the grass, a bloody figure sprawled. One great ivory wing was sticking up, bent sharply in the middle at an unnatural angle, its pale feathers streaked with blood.

She stood frozen just inside the treeline, eyes wide with shock and horror. And then she was running, sprinting across the bloodied grass towards the prone form on the ground. "_Father!_" she cried in alarm, dropping to her knees beside him. She took hold of his shoulders and turned him over, and her next words stuck in her throat.

Her father's disheveled, pale gold hair was plastered to his forehead, which was covered in blood. Deep gashes and dark bruises were scattered across his visible skin, and his clothes were torn and, in places, burnt. His lavender eyes were half open, but they stared blindly and unblinkingly at the bright sky in a way that made her blood run cold.

She stared down at him in shocked silence for a long moment, still as stone. "F-… Father…?" The word escaped her lips in an unsteady whisper. Those horribly glassy eyes didn't move, didn't blink. Her father was as motionless as the still, clouded waters of the lake.

_Impossible_, she thought numbly, her mind refusing to accept what her eyes told her. _This is completely impossible. There's no way that something like this could happen- Not here. So what's-_

And then she noticed something else, something even more impossible.

Her father's lips were slightly parted, and a faint white mist hovered over his mouth. After a long moment of disbelieving silence, she reached out and put her finger into the mist. A vague tingle like electricity spread through her fingers and up her arm before she snatched her hand back, scrambling backwards to sit on the ground a few feet away, a strangled sound escaping her throat.

It was a tiny fragment of a soul. The kind of tiny fragment that demons leave behind when they feed on the souls of contractors. _A fragment of her father's soul._

The angel screamed.

_(~*~*-*~*~)_

Her scream had attracted the attention of several other angels in the vicinity, and they'd hurried to the forest in alarm. They had all been just as shocked as she had, and even more horrified; while she had been unable to see past the loss of her father, they saw the ominous implications of this event. So not only had a demon found its way past the holy barrier and into Heaven, but that demon had also somehow found a way to eat the soul of an angel? It was unheard of, unprecedented, unbelievable. Demons were not supposed to be able to devour angelic souls- only human souls could fall prey to their appetites. But if one demon had done it, couldn't it share the secret with others? And where would the angels be then?

Later that day, an angelic counsel was called to order. The most powerful and influential angels in Heaven sat solemnly around a huge white marble table, their expressions grim. They had called in the dead angel's daughter to retell the story of what had happened. She slumped in her seat, her forearms resting on the table, staring vacantly at the polished white marble. She had told her tale in a dull monotone before falling silent and resting her head in her hands.

Now the angels murmured quietly amongst themselves, greatly troubled.

"This is preposterous," protested a male angel with shoulder-length brown hair. "There should be no way for anything demonic to pass through the barrier. There are no chinks in Heaven's holy armor!"

"Well, clearly there is at least one," replied another angel sourly. She gave the speaker a condescending glance before going on. "An angel is dead, his soul was eaten, and an area several miles across suddenly reeks of demonic aura. I would say that that evidence points to a breach in the barrier, wouldn't you, Kaifel?"

The brunette angel frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by an older-looking angel with long white hair. "Celira is correct. It's quite obvious that at least one demon has managed to enter this realm, which is upsetting enough on its own," he said solemnly, "but what is more disturbing still is the fact that it somehow found a way to devour an angelic soul. This is a grave situation indeed."

"He wasn't just any angel, either," brooded another, looking down with a grim expression. "That was Yuluen this demon killed. _Yuluen,_ the _demon slayer_, one of heaven's most capable warriors! This creature must have been extraordinarily powerful to have defeated such a formidable opponent on his own turf…"

"I suppose I can see why Yuluen specifically was targeted," observed Kaifel doubtfully. "He was an expert at dealing with demonkind… He must have become a nuisance to the fiends of Hell with all of the trips to Earth he'd been taking, wiping out any demons he encountered along the way. Perhaps the demon was seeking revenge, or simply wanted him out of the picture. Of course, that doesn't get us any closer to learning which demon killed him- there must be countless monsters who'd wish to eliminate him…"

"I know who did it," a voice muttered quietly. All eyes turned to the dead angel's daughter, who was still staring vacantly at the table.

"What was that, girl? Speak up," commanded Celira.

"I _said_," she said in a louder tone, hands clenching into fists, "I know who did it." She looked up, and the council saw that her haunted sapphire eyes had hardened and grown cold. "It's true- there have been many demons my father had crossed. But only one is powerful and clever enough to have done this… Only one would be so fixated on revenge that even heaven's holy barrier would be only a temporary obstacle for its hatred." She gritted her teeth, looking back down at the table with blazing eyes. "It was… Laen. Demon Lord Laen did this."

Another unsettled murmur spread throughout the council table. "_Laen?_" Kaifel repeated incredulously. "The demon that's established a tainted empire in the pits of Hell?"

"That one's powers are rumored to be terrible indeed," the white-haired angel noted, looking at the girl with unreadable amber eyes. "And what could your father have done to provoke the wrath of such a powerful creature, child?"

She did not reply for a few moments. Then, in a tightly controlled voice- "a century and a half ago, he wiped out a quarter of Laen's growing army and half of his demonic court. Then he faced Laen one-on-one, and injured him so badly that he was forced to flee. Before he left, he told my father…" She stopped, a spasm of anger clenching her jaws and fists. "… 'Do not think that I will forget this, angel. From this day onward, there shall be no safe haven for you.' "

The angels of the council looked at each other with dread. "He must be the one, then," Celira said grimly. "So one of the most powerful and influential beasts in Hell has found a way to infiltrate Heaven…"

"Dear God," said Kaifel, horrified, "do you realize what this means? This demon is the ruler of an empire! If he were to use this knowledge to lay siege to Heaven…"

There was silence as this sunk in.

"We shall have to take action at once," the elder angel said at length, looking unsettled and grave. "We will need authorization to dispatch squads of warriors to hunt down this fiend-"

"Don't be a fool, Nuuleus," another angel spoke up bitterly. "Are you completely blind? We would be playing right into his filthy claws. I'm sure he would love us to send out all of our best warriors and leave Heaven undefended. Perhaps that's why he entered himself this time and killed Yuluen- to lure us into a trap."

"If we were to divide our forces now," Celira remarked, "there's a chance that Laen's army could overpower the remaining citizens of heaven and feast on their souls. He's right, Nuuleus- we can't afford to leave Heaven unguarded now. We shall just have to prepare for the imminent siege and keep our defenses strong."

The young blonde angel suddenly pushed back her chair and stood. All eyes again turned to her, their expressions ranging from surprise to outrage; lower-ranked angels were rarely allowed to sit in on councils, so getting up from the table while one was in session was considered the height of insolence. She did not appear to care, however. Her face was downturned, soft golden hair hanging down in a thick curtain so that her expression was invisible. Her fists were clenched at her sides, the knuckles bone-white with pressure. "I will not…" she murmured. "I… will… not…"

The angels watched in silence. After a moment, the one named Celira spoke up distastefully. "Sit down, you impudent child. Who do you think-?"

_"I WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO GO UNHARMED,_" the girl suddenly roared, her long hair blasting out in a shock wave as her wings snapped out to either side in rage. Her blue eyes were wild with fury and hatred. "THAT DEMONIC SCUM HAS STOLEN MY _FATHER_ FROM ME!" At this, she visibly choked up, and tears welled in her eyes, but the hatred in them did not diminish. "My Father… My Father must be avenged! And if you sniveling cowards won't risk anything to do it, so be it! _I_ will take vengeance _myself!_ _LAEN WILL DIE BY MY HAND!"_

There was shocked silence at the table for several moments. During this time, the girl turned around and spread her wings for flight. "So stay here and cower behind your useless _barrier_," she spat furiously over her shoulder. "I will be your warrior… I will be my Father's avenging angel. _I will-"_

"You'll be dead within a week or two," Celira said dryly, resting her chin casually on one hand and eyeing the young angel with faint distaste. "One angel cannot stand against an army of demons… Particularly not a spoiled child such as yourself. I don't care how powerful your father was; you clearly lack his wisdom and inner strength. It would be impossible for someone like you to perform such a daunting task alone."

The girl turned and locked eyes with the older angel. "You clearly know nothing about me," she said flatly, eyes burning. "I said that I will avenge my father. And, whether you fools believe it or not… I will do exactly that." She turned her back on the council. "And say what you like about me, but know this…" She cast a final, scathing glance over her shoulder at them. "I have more courage than all of you put together," she finished acidly.

And then she leapt into flight and soared away, leaving the angel council staring after her. For a long time, no one spoke.

"… Should we send a few warriors to back her up?" Kaifel suggested at last, sounding rather doubtful.

Celira crossed her legs and folded her hands on the table. "No," she said frankly. "It would be a waste of perfectly good fighters… A whole squadron wouldn't be able to keep that imbecile alive."


	2. Chapter 2: First Impressions

_**Everlight**_

Hey, guys. Remember to leave a review if you've got any comments/advice/opinions. I like feedback, even if it's negative.

In this chapter, we get a better feel for what Evra's personality is like when she's _not_ completely traumatized. … Don't worry, I promise she won't be this bad throughout the entire story.

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**Chapter Two: First Impressions**

She was growing frustrated with this task.

For the past three days, the angel had wandered around some random region of Earth- some country with a pretentious name like the United Lands, or something- searching relentlessly for demons. When she came across one, she would ambush it, beat it into submission, and demand that it take her to Hell. Unfortunately, all of the demons she'd encountered thus far were fairly weak, and claimed that minor demons weren't powerful enough to bring an angel into Hell. Upon hearing this, she promptly disposed of the foul creatures and continued her search.

Now she stalked irritably through the streets of a human city, scathing sapphire eyes fixed straight ahead. She was vaguely aware that she was getting some strange looks from the passerby, but she'd made certain to remove her wings from this form before entering the human realm, so she dismissed this as just another oddity of the human world.

_This is ridiculous,_ she fumed silently as she padded along the concrete on bare feet, the periwinkle ribbons wound around her calves trailing behind her._ If I could only find a way into Hell, I'm certain that I could find Laen in no time at all. This is taking __**too long**__! Every moment I spend wandering around here is another moment of life that that wretched beast doesn't deserve to have… _Some unfortunate human walking behind her stepped on her ribbons, and she stopped short and spun around, grabbing the young man by the collar. "_Watch where you're walking, you idiot!_" She snarled in his face, watching his uncomprehending mortal eyes widen in alarm. She ignored his stammered apology and shoved him backwards with one hand, turning and continuing on her path. _There has to be another way in,_ she thought, glaring at the ground. _But trying to find out what that way is would waste even more time than this method… _She exhaled sharply in annoyance and turned a corner.

As she did so, she was suddenly aware of that prickly, charged-air sensation returning again. By now she recognized it immediately as a demonic aura, and cast her eyes around to search for the cause.

_Ah… There_. Up ahead she saw a slim figure in a black trench coat walking down the sidewalk with slow, tired steps. It was walking away from her position, so all she could see was the black coat, black boots, and a shock of spiky, dark violet hair. She immediately set off in pursuit at a brisk walk, her gaze fixed on the back of its head like a laser targeting system.

She caught up with it just as it was passing by a small side street, and she unceremoniously grabbed it by the shoulder and shoved it sideways, catching it by surprise and sending it sprawling well into the alley. Before it could recover, she flashed a crushing kick into its side, and it rolled farther into the alley, away from prying human eyes. She followed grimly.

The demon had clearly had the wind knocked out of it, and for a moment it gasped and wheezed on the ground, scrambling as if trying to get up. The angel quickly darted over and, holding a hand out to one side, summoned her angelic blade. It materialized in her hand in a flash of white light, its long, pale blue blade gleaming softly in the low lighting of the alley. She stood over the demon and pressed the point of her longsword to its chest. It stopped moving and looked up at her with wide, astonished yellow eyes.

"Try to escape and I'll cut your filthy head off," she said flatly. "I want you to tell me how to get into Hell."

The demon blinked, still wheezing slightly. "Do… Do some bad stuff?" it offered breathlessly, eyeing her sword with a nervous expression.

She slammed her sword into the ground next to its head, slicing a small cut in its cheek. Before it could try to get up, she yanked the sword out and placed it at the demon's throat. "Don't get cute with me, you insolent _wretch_," she snapped, jabbing at its neck just hard enough to draw blood. It winced, and she leaned over so her face was right above it, her soft blonde hair hanging down over it, her dark blue eyes burning holes into its wide yellow ones. "I'll ask again. _How_ do I get into _Hell?_"

It swallowed, looking at her with confusion. "Well, um," it said slowly, "I guess if you want to get there without dying first, you'd have to have a demon take you there, assuming you're not one… But I don't really understand why you'd want to go there if you don't have to."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm searching for the demon lord Laen," she hissed. "So here's what you're going to do. You're going to take me to Hell, then show me where he is. If you're quick enough, I might even allow you to live."

The demon's eyes had widened. "L-… Laen?" Suddenly there was a wary glint in its eyes that had not been there a moment ago. "Why… Why do you want to find him?"

The sword dug deeper into the demon's throat. "That's none of your business," she snapped. "Now, are you going to cooperate or not?"

There was a blur of motion. Much faster than she'd expected, the demon shoved the sword tip away and kicked her square in the stomach with both feet. She went flying into the air, surprised at its swiftness, and saw it leap to its feet below her. She felt a cold fury ignite in her heart at this humiliation, and as she hurtled backwards through the air, she allowed her wings to return to her. They spread out from her back instantly, huge and snowy and graceful, and she flapped twice to stop her backward movement, then hovered in midair for a moment, glaring down at the demon. Pale, softly glowing feathers drifted to the ground like snow as she stared it down. "Fine," she said icily. "The hard way it is, then."

As she readied herself to strike, she saw the demon's mouth drop open in shock as it stared up at her. After a moment of silence, it regained its voice. "Y-you're- you're an _angel?" _It cried.

The dove-winged girl couldn't quite keep the smug smirk off her face. "That's right, demon. And now you will answer my question, or I'll cut you to filthy shreds."

It took a step back, eyes wide. "W-wait a second," it protested, looking up at her with something akin to hope in its eyes. "Are you an enemy of Laen?"

And then she was hurtling downward towards it, sword swinging in a lethal arc. It leapt backwards just in time as her sword buried itself in the concrete ground with a sharp clashing sound. She yanked it back out, straightening from her crouch, and took a step in the demon's direction, wings poised for flight, lovely face contorted in a snarl of loathing. "_**Yes,**__ I'm his enemy!_" she shouted, clutching the hilt of her sword so tightly her knuckles turned bone white. "_I am his most powerful adversary, his eternal foe, the bane of his miserable existence! __**I will be the death of him!" **_She brought her sword up to point at the surprised demon, glaring coldly down its gleaming blade. "And a pathetic creature like _you_ will _not_ stand in my way!"

It raised its hands in a nonviolent gesture, still stunned. "Wait, wait!" It cried. "I don't want to get in your way, I swear! I'm Laen's enemy, too! Please, hear me out!"

The girl eyed the demon in silence for a long moment. "… Speak, then, demon," she said at last, lowering her sword just slightly, sapphire eyes still cold and hard.

The demon slowly lowered its hands, its expression growing more serious. "Not all demons are Laen's allies," it said grimly. "It's true that many demons remain loyal to him, but some of us aren't so… cooperative." Here it took a deep breath as though getting ready to take a risk. "Some of us have gone rogue and would like to see Laen gone."

The girl watched the demon in silence, expression unchanging. It went on carefully. "I'm not sure how much you know about the happenings of the demonic realm, since angels don't often leave heaven… So you might not know what Laen's position is like. A few centuries ago, Laen came out of nowhere with a large group of supporters and began to establish himself as a leader, of sorts." It paused. "That takes some serious guts, by the way," it added thoughtfully, "considering who the real ruler of Hell is, even though He doesn't usually bother with us much-"

"Get to the point," the angel cut in icily, "before I grow bored and decide to impale you."

The demon winced. "Right- sorry. Anyway, Laen slowly gained more and more followers and more and more influence until he eventually declared himself the "lord" of his region. No one opposed him- he'd already grown too powerful, and most demons don't like putting themselves in harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary."

_Of course they don't, _the angel thought distastefully. _Disgusting cowards._

"Soon enough," the demon went on, "Laen decided that he wasn't content to rule only one region of Hell, and began to take control of others, as well. In most places, people willingly agreed to be brought under his control out of fear or respect. Only in a few was there any protest. Laen silenced it by sending in an army of loyal demons to slaughter anyone in opposition to his reign." It shuddered slightly before continuing. "Those of us who didn't want to be under anyone's power were forced to flee, becoming outcasts and rogues. Now Laen reigns over almost every known region of Hell. He's a ruthless ruler, and he's exploited us without mercy to expand his power and influence." It looked down, a troubled expression crossing its face.

"He's crossed the line so many times, in the worst possible ways," it said softly. Then it looked back up, and there was a new determination in its eyes. "That's why… That's why some of us are fighting back. Those of us he's wronged, those of us willing to risk ourselves to remove him from power… We form the resistance."

The angel snorted dismissively, and the demon glanced at her in confusion. "… You expect me to believe this?" she inquired dryly. "_Demons,_ rebelling against unjust rule?"

It blinked at her. "Well… Yeah," it said uncomfortably, scratching its deep violet hair. "I mean, if humans can do it, why can't we? If it works for them, it should work for us, too, right?"

The white-winged girl abruptly dropped her sword to her side and spun on her heel, turning to face away from the perplexed demon. "I don't believe you," she said flatly, and proceeded to walk away towards the alley's entrance. "Clearly this is a waste of my time."

"H-Hey, hold on!" she heard it call out from behind her. "I'm telling the truth, I swear! If you really don't believe me…" There was a brief pause, a moment of hesitation. Then- "I can show you! I can take you to the rebellion's leader!"

The girl stopped. She did not turn around. The demon went on, sounding hopeful. "Maybe you could join us. I'm sure another person would be really helpful! And you'd have a better shot at-"

"No." She did not let it finish. She turned sideways and glared back at it, fierce pride and hatred in her eyes. "I don't need help from _anyone_," she spat, "_least_ of all a bunch of filthy _demons_. I will destroy Laen on my own. I have no interest in being a part of your pathetic little 'rebellion.'"

It gave her an exasperated look, frustration written on its face. "But we're all trying to accomplish the same goal," it protested. "If we worked together, we'd all benefit! So few people are willing to take a stand… We need every bit of help we can get!"

"I honestly couldn't care less whether you need me or not," she replied bluntly. "I will not stoop so low as to work with fiends to achieve my goal."

She saw it frown at her, looking disappointed and discouraged. "But…" Suddenly she noticed its expression shift as though realizing something, but it quickly covered this up with a knowing smile. "Oh, I see," it said, grinning at her cheekily. "Don't worry- if you're really that afraid of being around a bunch of demons, I understand; you don't have to-"

She was right in front of it with a single flick of her wings, blue eyes blazing. Without warning, she unceremoniously punched it in the face. Caught off guard, it flew several feet backwards and hit the ground with a solid THUD, one black-nailed hand clutching its cheek. She scowled down at it scornfully, her lip curled slightly in anger. "Don't be such a _fool_, you pathetic demon _trash_," she snarled. "Now get up and show me where this 'leader' of yours is. Before I lop your ugly, hollow head off."

It winced at the large, dark bruise growing on its cheek before looking up at her in surprise. "Wait- You mean you'll join us?"

"We'll see," she said flatly. "I'm not afraid of you or any other demon. I will see what this 'resistance' is like. Perhaps I can get some useful information out of your leader. Now hurry up and take me there."

Its face lit up in a childish grin- it had an annoyingly innocent face for a demon, particularly one that looked about 18 or 19 in human years- and quickly leapt up from the ground. "Understood!" It replied happily, and quickly set off for the alley's entrance. "Come on, it's this way."

She stood still for a moment before allowing her wings and sword to fade away. Then she followed the demon in silence. After a moment, it turned and smiled back at her. "Oh, by the way! I'm Ikurin, but everyone calls me Ike. Who are you?"

The angel looked straight ahead, ocean-blue eyes cold and unyielding. She walked on in silence for a moment before glancing at it briefly, her gaze hardening as it lit upon the demon's face.

"… My name is Evra," she said at last, looking forward again coldly.

"Evra?" Ike echoed. After a moment it smiled tentatively. "Well, then, it's nice to meet you, Evra. I hope-"

"The feeling is _not_ mutual," she interrupted forcefully, giving it a scathing look. "Now take me to this 'resistance' of yours and do not bother me with your irritating small talk."


	3. Chapter 3: Alliance

Everlight

All right, now we're getting somewhere! In this chapter you get to meet my favorite character in this story- the leader of the Resistance. Also, Evra's irritating habit of thinking of demons as "it" meets its end here. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Alliance**

The demon- the creature named Ikurin- led her through the streets for some time. She was growing progressively more bored as time went on, and was on the verge of beheading the demon and searching for another when it turned into an alley and glanced back at her. "We're almost there," it announced, then glanced around furtively. "But you have to _promise_ not to tell anyone else where our base is, okay? We'd be in some serious trouble if Laen's minions discovered us."

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently, disgusted at its naiveté. "Now hurry up and show me where it is."

It smiled and turned forward again, setting off at a brisk walk. Evra followed, and soon it became obvious that the alley was a dead end. Ikurin turned towards the side of the alley, and walked towards a ramshackle old house with cracked windows, peeling paint, and a door that hung off its hinges. Evra paused outside, looking at the building with skeptical distaste. "… You're not serious."

Ikurin glanced around quickly and motioned for her to hurry. "_Shhh_," it hissed, then ducked inside.

Evra suppressed a sigh and followed it in. Once inside, she realized that the house had only one room, which was almost bare of furniture. A tattered rug lay in the center of the rotting hardwood floor, and an end-table with only three legs leaned like a cripple against the pitiful remains of a couch. A lone, cracked mirror hung crookedly from the back wall, reflecting a slightly distorted image of the angel and demon standing in the doorway.

Ikurin walked confidently into the room, while Evra stayed there in the doorway, eyeing the demon flatly. Perhaps she had misjudged it; perhaps the stupid creature was just insane, and its tales of rebellion were only its twisted little delusions. She saw no army, no leader, no base.

Ikurin paused when it noticed that she wasn't behind it, and glanced back with a frown. "C'mon," it insisted, "we're almost there."

"… _Almost_ there?"

It nodded and smiled a sly, smug little smile. Then it walked forward and knelt on the floor towards the left of the room. It reached down to the rotting planks and gingerly stuck one jet-black fingernail into the narrow gap between two boards. It slid its nail sideways along the gap, and an almost inaudible _click_ was heard. Then it straightened, walked a foot or two to one side, and stomped its booted foot hard on the floor.

And, to Evra's mild surprise, a square section of the decaying floor popped open like a trapdoor.

The demon named Ikurin turned and folded its arms, unable to suppress a proud grin. "What, you didn't _really_ think _this_ was our base, did you?"

"… I would not have put it past you," Evra replied coolly after a moment, calmly heading for the trapdoor. "A filthy wreck such as this would be a fitting home for scum such as yourself."

Its smile faded fast, replaced by a frown. "Hey, wait a minute," it protested in a wounded tone as she stopped at the edge of the hole in the floor, "I'm on _your_ side, you don't need to be so-"

"Shut up and get down there."

It blinked, and its mouth clicked shut. With an unhappy shrug, it hopped directly down into the pitch-black opening in the floor. Evra waited at the top for a moment, until she heard its voice call up from below. "It's kind of a long way down," called Ikurin, its voice sounding rather faint. "There's a ladder on the wall if you want to-"

But she ignored this and leapt down into the darkness.

After a full three seconds, she hit the ground lightly in a crouch. She was unable to see anything, and rather than wait for her eyes to adjust to the inky darkness, she summoned her angelic blade and raised it above her head, bringing forth a bright, pure light from the pale blue metal. As the light revealed her surroundings to her, she saw the demon, a few feet away from her, cringe and squint its eyes in the sudden brightness. "Ouch," it said plaintively, putting a hand in front of its face. "Could you turn that thing down a little? You're hurting my eyes."

"That's too bad," she said indifferently as she looked around with serious sapphire eyes. They were standing in a narrow, roughly-cut tunnel that stretched away into darkness.

It scratched the back of its head, looking at her like it didn't quite know what to make of her. Then it sighed and looked back at the vertical tunnel leading to the trapdoor. "Well, you can start off down that tunnel, then," it suggested, heading for the ladder. "I need to close the door so no one finds it. Just take your first left- I'll catch up."

"I will wait," Evra replied stiffly, eyeing the demon with mistrust.

"What, you don't think I'm gonna lead you into an ambush or something, do you?"

"You could," she replied tersely.

It paused a few steps up the ladder and glanced back at her with an innocent look. "Oh, well, okay then. You can wait there 'till I get back so you're not so scared-"  
But she was already walking away down the tunnel, fists clenched. "I fear _no_ demon," she spat over her shoulder as she walked. "If there's an ambush, so be it. I'll slaughter you all like the pigs you are."

She heard it continuing up the ladder as she strode briskly down the dark corridor, sword stretched before her to light her path. After a minute, she came to an intersection- three separate tunnels branched into the darkness. She turned left and continued walking, scanning the path ahead warily.

A few moments after she'd taken the turn, she heard running footsteps approaching from behind, and she quickly spun, whipping her sword around to rest at the culprit's throat.

Ikurin froze, one hand half outstretched as though to touch her shoulder. "Woah, calm down," it protested in a strangled tone. "It's just me."

Evra stared it down with an intense expression for a few moments before turning forward again. "Do not touch me. Next time you try, you will lose that hand."

"Sorry, sorry." It stepped forward and took the lead, grimacing. "Anyway, we're _really_ almost there now."

"That's the third time you make that claim," she retorted flatly. "If we do not arrive at this base of yours in under two minutes, I will skewer you and be on my way."

It flinched. "Okay, okay! Sorry about the wait! C'mon, then, let's hurry up." And it set off down the tunnel at a jog.

She lengthened her strides to catch up, and soon they came to yet another intersection. Here Ikurin stopped, and Evra eyed him expectantly. "Which way is it?"

It grinned. "Up." It crouched on the ground and brushed some dirt aside, then turned a small circular pebble beneath. A square portion of the seamless stone ceiling suddenly swung downwards, allowing a rope ladder to drop through. The demon smiled and gestured at it. "Go ahead."

"No, after you," Evra responded dryly, looking up into the trapdoor. "I insist."

It shrugged and climbed up the ladder. After a moment's hesitation, she followed it.

They emerged in a small room cut neatly into the stone. It was lit warmly by several lamps hanging from posts in the walls, and had none of the damp, oppressive atmosphere of the dim tunnels below. In one of the side walls, Evra could see a doorway to another room. A huge, old-looking map was pinned to the back wall behind a large, solid mahogany desk strewn with jumbled papers and heavy books.

Behind this desk sat a little girl.

She looked to be around eight or nine years old. She had glossy, red-violet hair that fell to the middle of her shoulder blades, and Evra noticed two small black horns protruding from either side of her head. Her cat-slit eyes were large, the irises a vivid, icy blue, and behind them danced a bright spark of calculating intelligence that clashed strangely with her childish features.

The angel stopped. Stared at the little girl. Then looked slowly back at Ikurin.

Ikurin grinned. "Evra, this is our leader, Kyrien. Kyrien, this is Evra. She's hunting Laen, so I thought she might want to join us."

As those sharp eyes fell on Evra, a strange thing happened. The demon froze briefly, its eyes widening in surprise, and a cascade of emotions flickered across its delicate face with dizzying speed. Before the angel could identify any of them, the child wiped all feeling off of those pixie-like features so quickly that Evra couldn't be sure that she'd seen any of it at all. The demon - Kyrien- then proceeded to give her a long look that was heavy with skepticism. "… You don't say," it said after a long moment in a slow, unimpressed tone, its voice clear and cool, though just as childish as its appearance.

It was met with an equally skeptical stare. "… You're not serious," Evra said at last.

Ikurin blinked, looking mildly uncomfortable at their reactions. "Sure I am."

Evra's lip curled. "You brought me all this way… for _this?" _She waved a hand at the little girl and the otherwise empty room in an exasperated manner. _"This_ is your _oh-so-powerful_ leader? And where is your army?"

"I never said we had an army," Ikurin protested. "We do have one more member, but right now he's-"

_"__**One**__ more member?" _Evra snarled, turning on the demon with fury in her eyes. "You brought me here to join a rebellion of _three demons?"_

The creature flinched back from her anger, yellow eyes suddenly uncertain. "W-woah, calm down!" It cried, raising its hands in a peacemaking gesture as it took a step back. "Three is better than one, isn't it? I mean, your odds would be better with even a little help than with none at all, right?"

_"Ignorant wretch!" _ The angel roared, advancing on the now-alarmed demon, both fists now clenched around the hilt of her sword in acute rage. "I do not need help from a _miserable_ little cluster of _weak_, _sniveling_ _imps_ like _you! I alone am worth a thousand of you pitiful creatures! You are completely and utterly __**worthless to me!**__" _On her final word, she raised her angelic blade and brought it whistling down in a deadly arc towards the demon's skull.

At the same time, she heard a sharp, barked command from behind her- "dive"- and saw her target instantly obey, throwing itself to the side in an evasive roll as her sword came crashing down. Then, at the moment when her blade clanged harshly against the stone floor, she felt something smash into the center of her back with all the weight and speed of a cannonball. Caught off guard, Evra was sent flying forward, tumbling to the floor with the thing on top of her. In the next instant, she felt something slim and razor-sharp pressing against her throat.

"This knife is poisoned," warned a soft, childlike voice from directly behind her ear. "The venom is designed for immortals such as ourselves. One little cut to a major artery, and you'll be dead in a matter of seconds."

Evra might have thought that Kyrien was bluffing if the blade hadn't felt slimy against her skin.

Astonished rage flooded through her. In a matter of seconds, _she_- the powerful, superior angel- had been incapacitated by a demonic _child._ She'd let her guard down- she hadn't expected the tiny creature to pose a threat to her. If any other angels had been around to see this, she never would have lived it down.

"If you move," the child cautioned calmly as Evra prepared to dash this annoyance from her back, "I'll kill you. If you're really so intent on killing Laen, you won't want that to happen."

This last comment pierced through the veil of anger for a moment. She supposed that, as much as she despised the idea, the demon had a point. This was a rather risky position, no matter how she looked at it, and if she were to die now, she would never be able to avenge her father. She would have failed before the real trial even began.

She gritted her teeth. "Get off me," she spat, fighting the urge to throw the creature off herself.

"Now that _would_ be unwise. I'd much rather wait until you've calmed down a bit," Kyrien replied serenely. "It would be a shame to have to kill a potential recruit."

"I'm not joining you," Evra snarled, muscles tensed. "In fact, you'll be lucky if I don't slaughter you all before I leave."

"You wouldn't be able to." Evra stiffened at this, but the demon went on before she could respond. "We are all much stronger than we first appear. Whether you join us or not, we will not allow you to come between us and our goal. If need be, _we_ will be the ones to kill _you_. But that wouldn't help either of us, would it?"

"Fool," Evra snapped, twisting her head to glare viciously up at the fiend on her back. "None of you could ever hope to match my power, working together or not."

"You're arrogant," Kyrien observed softly, eyeing her with a strange look in its eyes. "You are an angel, correct?"

"That's right. I'm sure you know what that implies."

"Oh yes, I know exactly what that implies. It implies that you're haughty and overconfident, and that you think that the rest of the universe is too far below you to count for anything." Kyrien leaned down until the angel could feel its cool breath against her ear. "Pride is your weakness," it whispered. "But also your strength. You have the potential to be truly great, or truly pathetic. It all depends on whether or not you can learn to control that arrogance of yours."

Evra bristled. The 'truly pathetic' part made her want to rip the demon's limbs off. She didn't quite know what to make of the rest. Kyrien took advantage of her silence and went on briskly, "you claim that we can be of no help to you. So I ask you- how exactly do you plan to reach Laen? Hm?"

Evra glared up at the creature in silence. Kyrien's answering smile was infuriating. "That's what I thought. Even if you were to find a way into Hell, which would require the assistance of a powerful demon, do you have any idea exactly where in Hell Laen resides?"

"I could find him on my own once I was there," Evra muttered bitterly, but with slightly less conviction than before. She really didn't know how she was going to track the demon lord down.

"I highly doubt that. The location of Laen's stronghold is a well-guarded secret. Very few demons know where he makes his home, aside from the ones who live with him in his fortress. Even the majority of his armies do not know where their orders come from. You could scour the vast expanse of Hell for the remainder of your life, which would not be terribly long in a place like that, and still never come close to finding your target."

"If the secret is so _well-guarded_," Evra snapped, "then I'm certain that you pitiful worms would not know it either."

Kyrien smirked, one sharp fang poking out of that delicate little mouth. "That's where you're mistaken," it said dryly. "We've known his location for some time now. Incidentally, we have a mole in his fortress. He leaks confidential information to us from time to time. And this is another advantage that you would not have without us- information. You would be running blindly into your pursuit- you'd be as vulnerable as a mouse in a snake's nest. You would be easily picked off long before you got anywhere near Laen, no matter how powerful you are. With our connections, we know every chink in his armor, every defense he has against our assault. We are far more prepared for this task than you could ever be without us." Kyrien paused, then added in a slightly scornful tone, "moreover, we plan our moves before we make them. Meticulously. That alone would be something you need quite badly."

"I don't need your help," Evra repeated in what was meant to be a fierce tone. It came out sounding more sullen than fierce. She hated to admit it, but the demon was making sense. Kyrien made it sound like only a true idiot would turn down an opportunity like this one. _But they're just a bunch of filthy demons,_ the angel thought to herself furiously. _No matter what, I will not stoop to working with fiends._

The demon seemed to read the angel's thoughts in her eyes. Kyrien gave her a long, unreadable look. "I don't know why you're out to kill Laen, angel," it said frankly after a moment. "And I honestly don't care. But whatever the reason, it must be very important to you if you're willing to charge blindly into Hell over it, no? If you're that determined to accomplish your goal, you will not let anything stand in your way, not even your pride. If we join forces, we will be far more likely to achieve our goal. That's simply the way it is. I am no more thrilled with the idea than you are, but I'm willing to sacrifice anything and everything for this cause. Are you?"

Evra paused, a vivid mental image of her father's lifeless, bloodstained face flickering through her mind. She could not allow his death to go unavenged… And there was her secret hope, that perhaps if she could recover his soul from the beast… Perhaps she could bring him back.

Was she really willing to throw all of that away just because she was too stubborn to work with demons?

Evra averted her eyes, staring at the stone floor in tortured ambivalence. Kyrien waited patiently.

"…Fine," she mumbled at last.

She could hear the demon's smug smile in its voice. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

She almost changed her mind at that. _"I said, fine!"_ She snapped, glaring daggers at the demon child. "Now get off of me before I lop your disgusting head off!"

Kyrien laughed, "Now, now- it's not very smart to threaten your boss, is it? Particularly not when your boss has a knife to your throat."

"_Boss!_ In what universe do you imagine that _you_ could be the _boss_ of me?" The angel cried.

Kyrien laughed again and leapt lightly to its feet, putting the knife away. "Oh dear, now you're starting to sound like a sulky kindergartener," it chuckled. Now that it was further away, Evra saw the creature's clothes for the first time- it wore a strange, strapless top that looked like a closed corset and seemed to be made of cast iron. It only reached halfway down the demon girl's stomach, showing its lean, wiry frame in detail. It also wore a short, flaring black skirt over a lacy crimson underskirt. The child stood taller than Evra had expected, due to the fact that it wore tall, lace-up high heels.

Evra bit back a retort and climbed to her feet, scowling poisonously at the demon. Only now did she again acknowledge Ikurin's presence. The older demon was looking relieved, if a little wary. "Nice to have you on the team," it offered tentatively, though this statement scaled up at the end like a question.

"The feeling is not mutual," she spat back bitterly.

Kyrien walked back to the desk and sat down again before training a dry look on the other demon. "Ike," it said slowly after a pause, "did we not discuss just recently how vital it is to keep the location of our base a secret? I didn't go to such great lengths to carve a hidden sanctuary from the stone just so you could lead random strangers in here."

Ike flinched at this. "Well, when she told me she was hunting Laen, I figured we could make an exception," it justified.

"It thinks that making me _promise_ not to tell people would keep the secret safe," Evra said distastefully.

Kyrien smiled impishly at her. "It? Oh dear, you really _don't_ like us much, do you? If you're going to be working with us, you'll have to start thinking of us as 'he' and 'she' at some point, no? It's just inconvenient if you don't, I imagine." It chuckled and gestured with one hand. "Go on, now, try that sentence again."

"No," Evra said flatly.

Now Kyrien's smile gained a steely edge. "There is one rule to working with us that you need to learn immediately," it informed her coolly. "If you expect to stay with us, you'll have to pull your own weight. If you disappoint us in that, you're out. That means that I expect you to be obedient. If you are not, your defiance could get you killed at a critical moment. It would be no one's fault but your own." It smiled sweetly at Evra's furious expression. "Now, let's try that again. Please use the proper term to refer to our dear Ikurin."

Evra gritted her teeth, every instinct rebelling. "_He_," she ground out after a moment.

"Very good. Now how about me? What am I?"

"She," Evra snapped. "Enough of this foolishness. Tell me more about Laen."

"Have some patience, Tenshi-chan," Kyrien replied with another impish smile, picking up the pen that it- she- had been writing with when they'd first entered. "Rushing will only hurt you in the long run. Ike, why don't you give our newest member a tour, hm?"

"Okay," he agreed rather doubtfully. He made a visible effort to shake off his mistrust and smiled at Evra. "This way," he said in an attempt at cheerfulness, and walked to the nearby doorway.

After throwing a final malicious glance at Kyrien, she followed. As they passed through the doorway, the angel spoke. "What did it- _she_," Evra corrected bitterly, "just call me?"

Ike's smile grew rather nervous. "Oh- uh, that," he stammered with a strained grin. "Well, um, our old base was in Japan, and we'd spent a few years there, so we sort of know the language- Kyrien knows it much better than the rest of us- and-"

"What did she call me?" Evra repeated flatly.

Ike winced. "N-nothing bad! Tenshi means angel."

"She said 'Tenshi-chan.' Not just 'Tenshi.'"

"Right… Um, -chan is a, um, familiar term. Like you'd use for family, or close friends, or something…"

Evra's eyes narrowed in disgust. "And that's all it means?" she clarified coldly.

'Um, well… Uh, it's usually used for someone younger than you… Or lower in rank…" At Evra's thunderous expression, he put his hands up in alarm. "But maybe I'm not explaining it right! I don't really know, I didn't pick up the language that well!"

Evra glared at him and looked imperiously around the room, which was also brightly lit by lamplight. It contained two couches and an armchair, as well as a few end-tables. On the flat, low table between the couches sat a glass chessboard and a few decks of cards. A wide-screen TV rested against the wall, with a rack of various DVDs beside it. Ike seemed to remember his tour guide duties at this point, and jumped to attention. "Anyway! This is the living room!" He announced unnecessarily. "This is where we hang out when there's nothing else to do, between missions, usually." He saw Evra staring incredulously at the TV and smiled slightly. "Yeah, we're not sure how Kyrien got electricity down here, either."

There was a sudden fluttering sound, and something black sailed into the room from the doorway they hadn't gotten to yet. The thing glided over and landed on the back of one couch. It was a large raven, sleek black feathers contrasting sharply with eerie crimson eyes. It cocked its head to one side, staring at the angel.

Ike grinned. "Oh, hey, there you are! I was wondering where you'd disappeared to!" He gestured to the raven, glancing at Evra. "This is Fuzen. Kyrien picked him up in Japan. He's like our messenger, and our spy, sort of."

Evra stared at the bird. The bird stared at Evra. "Tell me," she said very slowly, fiercely controlling her temper. "This is not the third member of your so-called resistance… _Is it?"_

Ike flinched at her tone. "No, no! No, I didn't count Fu. There's someone else."

"Good," she replied flatly. She didn't know if she could have restrained herself from ripping him to shreds if he'd classified a bird as a competent resistance member.

Fuzen looked at Evra for a moment longer. Then it deliberately turned away and flapped off through the doorway it had come through.

Ikurin followed it. "This is the hallway," he announced, again unnecessarily, as they stepped out into a narrow stone corridor. There were several doorways evenly spaced along the hall, these with actual doors. Ike opened the one closest to the living room entrance, grinning at the angel. "This is my room." Evra peered in with disinterest written on her face. It was a small bedroom, sparsely furnished with only a narrow bed, a dresser, and a wooden chest at the foot of the bed. On the dresser sat a large birdcage, its door open. After a moment, when Evra did not show any interest in entering, the demon closed the door and gestured down the hallway. "The other doors lead to bedrooms, too. Most of them are empty, but Kyrien wanted to save some space in case we got any new recruits." He smiled jubilantly. "Which we did! You can have this bedroom over here." He walked down the hallway, passing by one closed door, and opened the next one, revealing another identical bedroom. The only difference was that this one lacked a bird cage.

Evra glanced inside, her lip curling slightly. "… How charming," she muttered after a moment. But it would serve its purpose, in spite of its drab and unimpressive appearance. If it had been necessary, Evra would have slept in a swamp to further her goal. Just another inconvenience.

She glanced at the door they had passed. "I assume that that is the third member's room." She didn't phrase it as a question.

Ike winced slightly for reasons Evra could not identify. "Yeah. He's in there now, actually, but we really shouldn't disturb him. He's not in very good shape right now." Before the angel could comment, he gestured hurriedly to the far end of the hall, which had a thick mahogany door set into it. "And that door leads to Kyrien's study," he finished quickly, glossing over his discomfort with another big smile. "We generally don't go in there much. It's kinda like Kyrien's own private little bubble. It's where she does most of her research and strategizing and stuff. It's her bedroom, too, actually, but I think she does a lot more studying than sleeping in there." He laughed easily. "She retreats to her study when we really get on her nerves, sometimes, too. Like just two days ago, when-"

"Yes, well," Evra cut him off with icy sarcasm, "I'm sure that's all very interesting, but I have more important things to think about. How about you? You're all a team here, so you must know just as much as Kyrien does about Laen. Tell me. Where is his fortress? How large is his army? How-"

"Um, well," Ike hedged uncomfortably, "Kyrien doesn't really tell us _everything, _so I really don't know as much as she does. Sorry about that. I'm sure she'll tell you more tomorrow, though. I think she wants you to take a break from us for now, to give you time to think about everything, maybe."

How irritatingly unnecessary. The angel fought back a sigh. "In that case," she said dryly, "I will retire to my room." She turned and walked through her doorway. "Go on and scurry back to your little leader, now. Tell her that I expect a full debriefing tomorrow." And with that, she shut the door in the demon's face. She found, to her slight satisfaction, that the door had a lock, and she proceeded to click that shut as well. Then she turned to face the little bedroom. She had no belongings to store in the chest, and no clothes to store in the dresser. So she simply sat down on the bed, allowing her brilliant sword to fade away as she did so. The bed was fairly soft, although not as much as she had hoped. This room was lit by lamps, as well, and a larger one sat on her dresser beside the bed. She reached out one arm to dim it, and, to her surprise, all of the lamps in the room dimmed with it. Some trick of demonic magic, perhaps? At this point she was beyond caring.

She lay back on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a while, allowing her mind to go back over the events of the day. It was a rather harrowing process. She didn't know what to think about her strange new alliance. On one hand, she detested the idea that she was now in league with the basest sort of fiends, and knew that her fellow angels would scoff at her openly if they knew how low she had stooped in this. On the other, she realized that, for the first time in the past three days, she finally felt like she was getting somewhere, making progress. It was a relief, and took some of the heavy weight off of her shoulders. However, it did nothing to ease the terrible sense of loss and grief over her father's death, and she suffered this in bitter silence, refusing to allow the tears to escape her eyes. He had been her mentor, her idol, her friend. She missed him fiercely, with her entire being. She would do anything for a chance at getting him back. If that "anything" included parleying with beasts and swallowing her pride… So be it. _So be it_, she repeated firmly in her mind, closing her eyes resolutely.

She was asleep almost instantly. She hadn't slept yet in all the time she'd spent on Earth.


	4. Chapter 4: Where You Stand

_**Everlight**_

Hey, everyone. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. In this chapter we get to see Evra's haughtiness come back to bite her. And there's a battle. And this one is a _real_ battle, not a mini scuffle like the one you saw in chapter two. ... Well, semi-real, anyway. You'll see. Even better, after this chapter, the missions will begin. That's where the fun really starts. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please don't hesitate to give me some feedback.

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**Chapter Four: Where You Stand**

It was dark when Evra opened her eyes.

For a moment, she couldn't recall where she was, or how she had gotten here. She sat up abruptly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and stared into the darkness in alarm. After a few seconds, the previous day's events came rushing back to her, and she allowed herself to relax slightly. She reached out to light the lamp beside her bed, and the wall lamps lit up with it.

She wasted no time. After running a hand half-heartedly through her long, blonde hair, she leapt out of bed, opened the door, and strode purposefully out into the hallway.

When she reached the living room, she stopped. Ikurin was already there, sitting on one of the couches. The glass chessboard had been stowed under the small table, which was strewn with playing cards grouped in threes and fours. Ike had a handful of cards, as well, and across the table from him sat another figure, who paused in the middle of laying down a trio of cards to look at the angel standing in the doorway.

Evra looked him over critically. _So this is the third member of the resistance, then… _He was a tall man, and looked a bit older than Ike, maybe 25 or 30. He wore a hunter green jacket over a simple white-and-brown striped V-neck and brown cargo pants. His chin-length hair was a light, pale blonde with two pale pink streaks on either side of his head, and flared outwards in ragged spikes from the ears down. Crisp white bandages hid his left eye from view- his right eye was a strange, mottled gray color that changed to a pale grayish-pink in the center, like a fresh scar. He had a smooth-skinned, attractive face. Other than his strange eye and sharp black fingernails, the only thing that gave him away as being a demon was the shape of his ears. They were pointed and slightly cone-shaped, and protruded outwards from the sides of his head.

The demon eyed her in silence for a moment, his expression set in a poker face. Evra got the distinct impression that she was being looked over just as critically as she'd done to him. Then he leaned back in his seat and smiled. It was not the sort of sincere, cheery smile that Ike favored, but a lazily confident, crescent moon smile that displayed some rather prominent canines. "Well, look who it is," he said dryly, his voice a smooth baritone. "Our newest member." He then proceeded to draw a card from the deck, shooting Ike a knowing look. "Kyrien wasn't exaggerating much about her attitude, I see," he commented in an amused tone. "I don't even have to wait for her to say something to notice that much- just look at that look on her face. It practically _screams_ condescension."

Evra's eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously, but before she could respond, Ike cut in. "Um, good morning, Evra," he greeted quickly, throwing the other demon a look that begged him to be polite. "This is Zairus, the third member of our team. Zai, this is Evra."

"I figured that, Ike," Zairus replied blandly, giving Evra a rather patronizing smile, "but thanks for the introduction anyway. Welcome to the team, rookie. I hope for your sake you can handle it here."

Evra's lip curled. "I wouldn't worry about whether or not _I_ can handle it, you ignorant scum," she said coldly. "_I _am not the one who is missing an eyeball."

Ike flinched at her comment, his yellow eyes widening in alarm, and shot a quick glance at Zairus. The older demon's smile had not left his face, but now it looked cold and brittle as ice. "Well, ex_cuse_ _me,_ princess," he said dryly, his voice suddenly hard. "Hopefully your sword is as sharp as your tongue, or you might just be more trouble than you're worth."

Before the situation could escalate any further, there was a measured tapping sound of high heels on stone, and Kyrien walked calmly into the living room, the red-eyed raven perched on one thin shoulder. "Good morning, everyone," she said coolly, looking the group over. Her ice-blue gaze paused on Zairus, and a faint, unexpected note of sympathy leaked into her voice. "And how are you feeling today, Zai?"

He rested an arm on the back of the couch and turned a deliberate smile on the demon girl. "Just peachy. Thanks for asking," he replied with an undertone of sarcasm, though the hostility was gone from his voice now. "I was just getting to know the new recruit. She's a real charmer, isn't she?"

Evra was about to snarl something unpleasant in response when Kyrien spoke, shooting her a grim look. "Evra. You have only just joined our team. If you're to work with us, you're going to have to make an effort to get along with everyone here. Avoid conflict as much as you can." She then trained her reproachful gaze on Zai. "That goes for you, too, Zairus. I don't want you provoking our new ally. I have enough to worry about without having to deal with you two constantly being at each other's throats."

Zai snorted, examining his sharp black nails with an air of amused indifference. "It doesn't take much provoking," he observed dryly. "No need to worry, though… I'll do my best to behave. For a while, at least."

Kyrien frowned at him, then shrugged and turned back to Evra. "In any case… Today we will be assessing your power, Tenshi-chan. You will-"

"Hold it," Evra interrupted, looking at her flatly. "I will do absolutely nothing until you give me the information I want. I am part of your little group now, so tell me what you know about Laen."

There was a brief burst of laughter. Evra glared daggers at Zairus, who was eyeing her sideways and grinning in amusement, the side of one curled finger pressed to his lips. "I'm starting to feel bad for you, angel," he commented pleasantly. "You really don't know how it works here, do you?"

Kyrien studiously ignored him, instead smiling impishly at the angel. "Ever the impatient one, aren't you, Tenshi-chan?" She noted, stroking Fuzen's feathers absently with one finger as the bird trained its crimson stare on Evra. "Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. I will give you the information you seek only when I deem it appropriate to do so. But before I tell you anything at all, I want to get an idea of what you're capable of. I want to know where you stand, and, perhaps more importantly, I want _you_ to know where you stand. There will be no negotiations in this area. Is that clear?" When the angel opened her mouth to protest, Kyrien spoke again, more forcefully this time. "_Is that clear,_ Tenshi-chan?"

Evra's mouth snapped shut, and she glared furiously at the small demon for a long moment before she forced herself to answer. "… Yes," she muttered through clenched teeth.

Kyrien nodded approvingly. "Good." She then turned on her heel and headed back into the main room. "Then let's get going. Ikurin, Zairus, you're coming as well."

Ike jumped to his feet obediently, dropping his cards in his haste, while Zai got up more slowly, laying his face-down on the table. Evra did not wait for them, instead striding briskly after Kyrien into the main room. Kyrien had already opened the trapdoor, and glanced back to be sure Evra was following before she calmly leapt down into the inky blackness. Evra jumped in after her, hurtling through the damp darkness for a few seconds before she landed on the stone floor in a crouch.

She straightened, eyes narrowed. It was just as dark as it had been yesterday- she couldn't even see Kyrien anymore. She was about to summon her angelic blade when there was a whistling sound above her. She sidestepped quickly as something heavy landed beside her with an audible thump. A moment later, the "something" spoke.

"You okay, Evra? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still right under the trapdoor…" came Ike's anxious voice from her side.

Her longsword flickered into existence, shedding light on the dark tunnel, and she frowned at the violet-haired demon. "Of course I am, you idiot. It's not as though you actually hit me," she pointed out flatly.

Ike winced. "True. Well, sorry any_AUUGH!" _He yelped as Zai landed directly on top of him with a loud THUD.

The older demon stepped lightly off of Ike's back, mouth twitching into a smirk. "Poor Ike. I know you want to flirt with the new girl, but this isn't the right place to do it," he advised with mock sympathy. He then promptly offered his hand to help Ikurin up.

Evra's lip curled in acute revulsion, and Ike's eyes widened. "_What?_ I wasn't _flirting_ with her," he protested in an injured tone, face reddening slightly at the thought as he took Zai's hand.

Zairus laughed mischievously as he pulled the young demon to his feet. "Sure, sure, I know. And your face is only pink because I knocked the breath out of you, right?"

"What on Earth are you all standing around back there for?" demanded Kyrien's irritated voice from farther down the tunnel. "Hurry up."

Evra treated them both to a scathing glare before she stormed off down the tunnel, fists clenched at her sides in acute restraint. Surprisingly enough, the filthy demons somehow found in themselves the wisdom to keep their distance for the rest of their walk.

They walked through the tunnel for quite a while, taking different turns than they had yesterday. After a while, the tunnel grew even more roughly cut, and the floor began to slope upward. Soon they emerged into a large, grassy meadow fringed by trees. Evra glanced back and noted that the entrance looked like a perfectly natural cave. _Was this the original entrance, then…?_

Kyrien turned to face them. "Now, then," she said briskly, "in order to see how you measure up, Tenshi-chan, we will be pitting you against the most powerful member of our team."

Evra looked back at Kyrien challengingly. "That would be you, wouldn't it, demon?"

A ghost of a smile came to Kyrien's lips. "Not quite."

Evra sighed and glared at Zairus. "Then I assume it is you."

Zairus smirked in amusement. "You know what they say about assuming things," he replied pleasantly. "And I guess they're right, because you're wrong."

Evra blinked. Very slowly, she turned to look at Ike, who was looking rather uncomfortable. "…You're joking," she said with absolutely no inflection in her voice.

Ike grimaced slightly. "Uh… Nope. It's actually me," he replied sheepishly.

Evra stared at him for a long moment. Then she put a hand on her forehead and slowly dragged it down her face. "Dear God," she said heavily, "That pitiful little worm is the strongest among you? It took me a grand total of five seconds to subdue him. How were you imbeciles expecting to manage without me?"

Kyrien smiled grimly. "Subdued him, did you?" She slowly turned her gaze on Ike. "Ikurin, I thought I'd already told you not to hold back on people when your life is threatened."

Ike frowned. "Well, I wasn't going to let her _kill_ me," he protested uncomfortably. "But I didn't see any reason to go all out on her. I don't like killing people," he added sulkily, and the contrast between his childish tone and the casual reference to her death raised the hair on the back of Evra's neck. "Besides, she wound up joining us, didn't she? So it's a good thing I didn't go all out this time, right?"

Kyrien sighed through her nose and looked dryly at Evra. "Our dear Ikurin isn't very fond of fighting," she explained in a resigned tone, as though she were dealing with a spoiled child. "The reason you subdued him so quickly is that he wasn't really trying. Getting him to fight is like pulling teeth."

"I just don't like hurting people if I don't have to, that's all," Ike muttered under his breath.

Evra looked at him in silence for a moment, sapphire eyes unreadable. Then she snorted, her expression souring instantly. "Demons playing at having morals…" she muttered acidly. "How disgusting."

Kyrien made a gesture that cut Ike off mid-protest. "Yes, yes, we demons are despicable, the only good demon is a dead demon, whatever," she said dryly. "We're in the middle of an assessment, Tenshi-chan. Don't get distracted." She turned to Ike. "Let's start with less intensive tests," she suggested coolly. "We'll check her speed first. No matter how much brute strength she has, it will be completely useless if she's too slow to catch up to her targets."

Ike shifted from foot to foot restlessly. "Does this mean I have to change?" He asked after a moment, seeming none too pleased with the prospect.

"Yes, Ikurin."

A crease appeared between his eyebrows. He opened his mouth as though to protest, hesitated, then shut it and took a few steps back, a slightly unhappy expression on his face. Evra watched with a sort of morbid curiosity. She had never witnessed a demonic transformation before, and wondered idly what the creature's true form looked like. Ike looked down as though ashamed.

And then he burst into flame.

Evra took a startled step back as the docile demon was consumed by a pillar of bluish fire that writhed and twisted like smoke in a windstorm. Zairus and Kyrien were completely unfazed, watching patiently as the flames coiled and twisted. After a long moment, they abruptly flickered out, revealing the figure beneath.

The mild, cheery Ike that Evra had been dealing with so far was gone. In his place stood a figure with long, wild violet hair that fell halfway down his legs, which now resembled the hind legs of an animal more than they resembled typical human limbs. His ankles were encased in thick iron shackles with short, broken chains dangling from them. He wore a sleeveless black trenchcoat open over his bare, slim torso, and black leather pants cropped short just below the knees. Two large, gracefully curling horns protruded from the top of his head, and his ears were long and sharply pointed. His black fingernails were now twice as long and sharp as daggers, while his feet had morphed into wicked-looking talons. His luminous yellow eyes were now cat-slit and wild.

But the most noticeable change by far was the pair of enormous, black-scaled wings that had unfurled from his back. They dwarfed even Evra's own wings in size, and had a sleek, powerful look about them.

Evra stared at him, unsettled. He smiled at her, and it was not his usual smile. It was something much more… Feral. Evra realized that her mouth was hanging open, and quickly snapped it shut, flushing with embarrassment.

"Right," Ikurin said, flexing his huge wings effortlessly- the scales glinted an iridescent violet where the sunlight struck them, like a grackle's feathers, or a beetle's shell. His voice had changed slightly, as well- it had a strange, breathy resonance to it now, like a snake's hiss. "What would you like me to do, Kyrien?"

Kyrien looked at him for a moment, then turned and pointed out across the meadow. "Race to the end of this field and back again. In this first race, I want you both to fly," she ordered in a businesslike tone. Fuzen stared eerily at Evra from the demon girl's shoulder, and she could have sworn she felt skepticism in its unblinking gaze.

"_Tch_… This is ridiculous," Evra muttered almost reflexively, scowling at her leader. "Laen is out there somewhere, alive and well, and you're having us run _races_."

Kyrien's eyes narrowed slightly. "Evra," she said in a suddenly sharp tone, turning to face the angel and fixing her with an intense stare. Evra stopped and looked at the little girl with the coldly blazing eyes. Kyrien was silent for a long, tense moment before continuing. "Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you. I am the leader of this rebellion. Everything I do, and everything I order _you_ to do, somehow furthers our goal of ending the demon lord's life. You may not always be able to see how your tasks accomplish this, and I will rarely tell you. Not knowing what good a task does us is absolutely no excuse to hesitate or turn away from it. If you fail even in what seems like the most pointless task, if you disobey me because you find yourself questioning my leadership… You could completely ruin our chance at success, in ways you could never have predicted. You could completely destroy all of the progress we've made thus far, simply because you _doubted_." Her expression was deadly serious, her gaze never faltering as she evenly met Evra's stare. "But I swear to you… to all of you," she added, glancing around at the others, the grim determination on her face contrasting sharply with her childish features. She took a deep breath before continuing in a strong voice. "If you follow my orders to the letter, we will not fail. I will gladly give my life to make absolutely certain of that fact."

Evra looked back at her for a moment uncertainly. There was silence for several seconds. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Zairus gazing at Kyrien seriously, and Ike giving her a piercing stare that radiated fierce loyalty. Then Kyrien's grave expression abruptly dissolved, and she smiled impishly up at the angel. "But just this once, I'll justify my orders," she added with jarring cheerfulness, making a grand, magnanimous gesture with one arm that nearly dislodged the raven from her shoulder. "It is absolutely imperative for a leader to know her subordinates' strengths and weaknesses. I need to know how to most effectively use you. A contest of this sort is the quickest way for me to get a feel for your abilities."

Evra's glare returned instantly, her mouth forming a thin, hard line. "_Use_ me?" she echoed in a thunderous tone.

Kyrien chuckled unabashedly, icy eyes glittering with mischief. "Yes, use you. You're all my tools, after all. But you have the same goal as me, so that shouldn't be a problem, correct?" She spun away without waiting for a response, walked a few paces, turned back, and sat down delicately on the grass. "Now hurry up and race," she finished cheerily as Fuzen hopped off her shoulder onto the ground below, then trained its ghostly red gaze back on Evra. "And, Ikurin, there is absolutely no holding back here. I will be extremely displeased if you sabotage my test results. Is that clear?"

"Understood," Ike responded immediately, flashing a huge, sharp-toothed grin as he walked to the edge of the field, his strides smooth and graceful. Evra followed reluctantly, none too happy with her situation. _Tools, she says,_ the angel thought bitterly as she came to stand beside the demon. _I am no one's tool. And why should I not be told what my actions contribute to the cause? Oh, she has definitely not heard the end of this from me…_ She came to stand beside the newly-transformed demon, and shook off her other thoughts to focus on the task at hand. Her soft white wings materialized and spread out from her back, shedding a few snowy feathers in the process. She was unreasonably irritated to find that they were a much less impressive sight when she was standing beside Ikurin and his own enormous, horn-tipped wings. _Well, size is not an advantage, anyway_, she thought coldly, staring intently at the far end of the meadow. _With wings that large, he must be a good deal slower than me. This should not be much of a challenge… Perhaps once I've bested this worm in these contests, I will be treated with the respect I deserve from these impudent creatures._

"Are you ready, Evra?" came Ikurin's hissing voice from beside her, and she realized that she could no longer read the emotions in it. She turned her head to look at the demon, and found, to her slight unease, that his expression was almost as difficult to read. That feral smile seemed to be immoveable, and his wild, cat-slit eyes were entirely alien to her- it was like trying to read the expression of a panther, or a snake. "You were pretty quick in our little scuffle the other day. This should be fun."

"Silence, wretch," she snapped icily, looking ahead again and leaning forward slightly, knees bent in readiness. "There is no contest. My victory is inevitable."

The demon surprised her with a strange, reptilian laugh. She saw him mimic her posture from the corner of her eye. "Is that so? Let's see it, then."

Kyrien's voice came from behind them, sounding faintly amused. "Ready…?"

Evra tensed, expression cold and proud.

"Go."

_WHAM. _The sound of a good deal of air being moved very quickly from right beside her nearly deafened the angel as she leapt skywards. To her astonishment, Ikurin shot out ahead from that single wingbeat, black coat and violet hair lashing madly behind him, enormous wings spread wide, slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter. _What-? How can he move so quickly with such a huge wingspan? _

Evra clenched her teeth and stroked hard, hurtling through the air behind him. Her feathered wings cut smoothly through the air, and she picked up momentum as she rocketed over the grassy field. She was gaining on him now- he was fast, very fast, but she only got faster the longer she flew. In a few seconds she was right behind him.

He glanced back over his shoulder and flashed an impossibly wide grin at her. "Oh, wow," he laughed wildly, "you can actually keep up! But can you go any faster?" With that, he beat his great wings and shot forward again, faster than before. The angel let out a grunt of frustration and poured more strength into her wing strokes, flapping furiously to catch up.

She saw Ikurin reach the treeline up ahead- he slowed slightly as he approached the forest, then pulled his wings back like a parachute, thrusting his talons forward like an owl about to strike. They hit a tree hard, and the momentum bunched him up against the trunk for a moment before his legs thrust back against the tree, sending him flying backwards, belly up. He spun around midflight, and this is when Evra passed him on her way to the treeline. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, lustrous gold and cold sapphire. And then he passed her by.

Evra hurtled towards the treeline, and, unlike the demon, she did not slow down. As she drew near, she thrust her right arm out sideways, simultaneously pulling her wings in close to her body. Her arm caught a tree, and her momentum sent her swinging in a tight arc around the backside of the trunk. She let go, and her spin sent her flying back the way she'd come from, even faster than before. She spread her wings just enough to keep her gliding, and she quickly gained on Ikurin, who was still building speed. For just a moment, she drew up alongside him, and the angel and demon rocketed across the meadow side by side.

Then he beat his wings again and shot ahead in spite of Evra's best efforts. In a few more seconds he reached their starting point and his wings snapped outwards once more as he slowed down, then landed lightly on the grass a few feet away from where Kyrien sat watching.

Evra landed somewhat less gracefully, stumbling slightly as her feet hit the ground a bit farther away from the others. As soon as she landed, she hunched over and put her hands on her knees, long hair hanging down over her face. She was breathing heavily, both out of exertion and frustrated anger. _Impossible. Impossible! How did he beat me? That shouldn't have happened! _

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a soft, impressed whistle. Her head snapped up and she glared furiously at Zairus, who was leaning against the stone of the cave entrance, eyeing them both with his eyebrow raised. "I didn't think she'd be able to get that close. Still no match for you, though, is she, Ike?" he said.

Ikurin laughed his strange, snakelike laugh. "Give her some credit. I haven't had a race like that in centuries," he replied with relish.

"Which means you were probably rusty. If you were in better practice, you would've completely smoked her," Zai noted helpfully.

At that moment, Evra wanted nothing more than to kill them both. Her fingers itched for her longsword, and she ground her teeth in fury. "That- was a fluke," she snarled viciously between breaths, causing both of their heads to snap around to look at her. "Nothing more! I should- I should easily have beaten- that pathetic…"

"Actually," Kyrien piped up from her seat, smiling up at the angel grimly, "it wasn't a fluke at all. You were beaten fair and square, Tenshi-chan. I told you that we were more powerful than we seemed, didn't I? It appears that Ikurin is simply faster than you." She paused and looked at the raven sitting on the ground beside her. Its red eyes were locked on Evra. "Fuzen, seeing as I neglected to bring writing supplies, I'll entrust you with my findings here. Her flight speed is about an eight point five. Remember it for later." Fuzen turned its head to look at the demon child for a moment, then turned its gaze back on the angel.

"_No,"_ Evra snapped, eyes blazing. "I want- I want a rematch. That was- inaccurate."

Kyrien looked back at her, arching her delicate eyebrows. "I'm afraid you don't call the shots here," she said dryly. "We're moving on now. Now I want you two to race again, on foot this time. Get back in position."

_Tch… No matter, _Evra thought grimly, straightening and striding back to the starting point with icy dignity. _I'll just have to work harder. I will beat him in the rest of the tests. __**I**__ am the superior one among these beasts… It should not be difficult to prove such an indisputable fact._

But it was. Ike won the footrace, as well, and this race wasn't nearly as close as the last one. Kyrien put them through many more tests - an agility test in which Evra and Ikurin flew through the forest, swerving around trees and boulders along the way, a test of strength in which they had to lift and throw increasingly heavy objects, _including_ trees and boulders, a test of evasion in which Kyrien calmly and deftly threw swarms of small throwing knives at them to see who was best at dodging. With each defeat, Evra grew progressively more frustrated, more furious, more ferocious. Kyrien dictated numbers to the raven as Evra completed each test- six for speed on foot, seven point five for both agility and evasion, eight for strength… She paid no attention to these numbers- she saw only the crushing humiliation of defeat. She even lost the tests of strategy and cunning, though not by much, and this infuriated her more than anything. Anyone could see that she was intellectually superior to that sniveling idiot! But then, this didn't seem to be quite the same sniveling idiot that she had known until now. This Ikurin was unsettlingly different, to the point that Evra had begun to wonder if his appearance was really the only thing that had changed.

And then came the final test.

"All right," Kyrien said at last, stepping forward to stand in front of them, light blue eyes serious. "Lastly, I wish to test your fighting ability. You seem to think that you are very skilled in this area, no?"

Evra set her jaw and glared down at the rebellion's leader. "Yes," she snarled, "as a matter of fact, I am. Now I will show you just how badly you've been underestimating me."

Kyrien looked back up at her solemnly. Then she gave a sunny smile. "I never underestimate anyone," she replied sweetly. "That's the whole point of this exercise, isn't it? In any case, here are the rules of this trial." She began ticking them off on her black-nailed fingers, her tone calm and matter-of-fact. "You are allowed to draw blood. You are allowed to break bones. You are allowed to use weapons if you wish. You are _not_ allowed to cripple, blind, inflict permanent damage, or kill. Your goal is to weaken your opponent to the point that you can subdue them." She turned towards Ikurin, giving the feral demon an unreadable look. "Ikurin. You are not to hold back. I order you to go all out, as far as the rules will allow you. Do not hesitate to inflict harm."

Ikurin's catlike smile did not fade. "Are you certain?" he inquired, his strange tone giving nothing away.

"Quite," Kyrien replied firmly.

The demon nodded respectfully. "Understood," he hissed, then turned away and paced lithely to the middle of the meadow.

Kyrien then turned her attention to Evra, smiling wryly. "I don't believe I need to order you to go all out. At this point I couldn't stop you even with a direct order, isn't that right, Tenshi-chan?"

"That is correct," Evra said coldly.

Kyrien's smile fell away like a mask. "It should not be," she said flatly, cat-slit eyes suddenly grim. "My orders are absolute. I should be able to stop even your heart with a single command. If you wish to succeed in this endeavor, I will require your perfect obedience. Do not forget that."

And then she turned away and walked back to her spot, sitting down beside Zairus and the raven.

Evra stood there for a moment, expression unreadable. Then she slowly turned around and walked to the center of the field, where Ikurin waited.

He stood calmly, his posture casual. But those bizarre, animal eyes were wide and intense, and darted around restlessly, occasionally coming to rest on the angel and lingering there for a second or two, sizing her up. "I've been ordered to hold nothing back," he observed, tilting his head just slightly to one side.

When nothing more seemed to be forthcoming, Evra snorted. "I had noticed," she replied coolly, coming to stand several feet away from him, eyes grim and fierce. She held out her hand, and her angelic blade shimmered to life in it, pale blue blade gleaming in readiness. She slipped into a fighting stance, her feet shoulder length apart, knees bent, wings poised for flight. She gripped the hilt of her longsword firmly with both hands, in a position that favored strength over agility.

"This is one of the more important tests, you know," said the demon conversationally, one talon idly scraping at the grass as his eyes continued their feverish dance. "Kyrien is testing multiple traits with this trial. Fighting ability, reflexes, adaptability… Up to and including…" Very suddenly, his cat-slit eyes landed on the angel and became perfectly still and focused. "Pain threshold," he finished, his voice dangerously soft.

This last comment, and its tone, abruptly plunged the angel head-first into reality. Goosebumps prickled across Evra's skin, and she stared across the field at Ikurin, taking him seriously for the first time. She was suddenly painfully aware that she was about to fight a being who had already proven himself to be a good deal more powerful than her. She also realized that this being, in spite of his previous behavior, seemed to have no qualms about inflicting some serious damage on her. At this moment, he seemed almost eager to do so.

She glanced back at where Kyrien and Zairus sat in the grass. Kyrien was watching her intently, as though searching for something. Upon seeing the expression on the angel's face, the corners of her mouth turned up in a grim, knowing smile.

So that was it, then.

This exercise had two purposes. The first was to evaluate her skills, and the second… The second was to make her see that she was not half as superior as she thought she was. To make her realize that this was not a group of weak, pathetic imps, as she had first thought. These tests were designed to shoot her arrogance full of holes. The demon child's words from earlier drifted back to Evra now, and she considered their meaning for the first time. _"I want to know where you stand, and, perhaps more importantly, I want __**you**__ to know where you stand."_

_Of course._

"Begin," Kyrien's voice commanded quietly from the meadow's edge.

Evra's mind snapped back to the present time, and she tensed, her sword automatically moving to a defensive position. But Ikurin had not moved. He had not even taken a fighting stance. He only stood there, posture relaxed, expression deadly. "Come on, then," he said after a moment, snakelike eyes unblinking. "This is what you're best at, isn't it? You're going to blow us all away with your fighting prowess now, aren't you? So go on… Subdue me."

Evra clenched her jaw, sizing him up. He was dangerous, that much was obvious now. Clearly charging him head-on as she'd originally planned was a bad idea. She took a slow, feline step to one side, her eyes never leaving him. He still did not move as she began to circle him, sword poised and ready, her expression and movements radiating complete focus and concentration. The demon, on the contrary, did not even turn his head, though his eyes followed her every step.

Halfway through her circling, Evra leapt fluidly at the demon, longsword whistling through the air. A moment before she collided with him, she beat her wings to send her off to one side-

_WHAM. _All the air rushed out of the angel's lungs as Ikurin's taloned foot struck her square in the stomach with all the force of a sledgehammer. She was sent flying backwards to tumble to the ground in an ungraceful heap, gasping for breath as she struggled to regain her footing. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up, straight into the demon's wild yellow eyes. He was standing over her, leaning forward slightly so his long, unruly hair hung down over her crumpled form. He lifted one talon experimentally, gazing quizzically down at the angel. "I could subdue you right now, you know, the same way you subdued me yesterday," he mused idly, moving his foot over her chest, one long, sharp claw tracing a delicate line across her throat. Then his grin ratcheted impossibly wide. "But that would be no fun at all," he laughed madly, leaping backwards into the air, beating his wings powerfully to stay aloft.

Evra rolled out from under him just as he darted in to smash his talons into the ground she'd just been lying on. She quickly sprung to her feet, heart pounding, and dodged nimbly to one side as the demon swooped down to slash at her with his claws. She took a swipe at him with her longsword as he passed, but his body twisted midair to avoid her flashing blade.

Evra gritted her teeth and leapt into the air, flapping her soft-feathered wings to gain altitude. But Ikurin was already above her, and he came dropping down out of the sky like a stone, one hand poised to claw at her. She swerved to one side, but he angled his wings just slightly to stay on target, and before she could do anything about it, four sharp lines of hot pain bloomed across her chest and shoulders. Half a second later, the demon cannoned into her, knocking them both out of the sky and sending them crashing to the ground. They landed a few feet apart- Evra hit the ground heavily, flat on her back, while Ikurin landed lightly on all fours like a great cat. As soon as they hit the ground, the demon pounced towards her as though to pin her, but she swept her sword at him from her position in the grass, and he drew back just in time to avoid a blade in the face. Evra leapt to her feet, ignoring the shallow gashes across her chest, as the demon circled back, then drew up to hover in midair a little way away. "This doesn't seem like a very fair fight," he observed. "Why don't you try going on the offensive for a bit? Here, I'll even give you a nice big opening." And with that, he turned his back on her, still hovering over the meadow with slow, strong wingbeats. "You can handle that much, at least, can't you?"

Cold anger ignited in the angel's chest, and she fought to restrain it, blue eyes smoldering up at the demon. But this humiliation was too much for her- a second later, she was hurtling through the air towards him, sword clutched in both hands and raised high over her head to strike.

Ikurin spun around at the last second, grinning creepily and moving to parry her slash. But instead of her sword crashing down towards his head, he found her foot flashing up towards his face. His arms shifted to block her, but he was too late, and the angel's heel slammed into his grinning mouth with stone-crushing force.

The impact sent the powerful demon spinning towards earth, a spray of blood trailing in his wake. Evra tucked her wings and dove after him, managing to get below him moments before he hit the ground. She snapped her wings open at the last second to slow her down a bit, then landed with one foot on the ground for traction. With her other foot, she swung a harsh crescent kick high over her head to smash into Ikurin's ribcage. She felt a satisfying _crunch_ beneath her foot as the demon went flying to one side to land on the ground with a heavy _THUD_.

Realizing that this might be her only chance, Evra dashed after him, skidded to a stop, and pressed her sword to his throat.

Ikurin's grin was still in place, but blood now seeped from between his teeth, which, the angel was surprised to note, were all still in his mouth. His eyes were hidden beneath a shock of ragged hair. He did not move.

Evra stared down at him intently for several seconds. _… Is that it…? Have I won? _After a moment of tense silence, she risked a glance over her shoulder at where Kyrien and Zai were. Both were standing now. Zairus had an expression of impressed surprise on his face. But Kyrien's face gave nothing away. She just watched Evra intently. When the angel's gaze met hers, she raised one eyebrow and glanced down in Ike's direction.

It was then that Evra heard the laughter. She tensed and looked back down at where Ikurin lay, his eyes in shadow, chuckling quietly. "You see?" He rasped after a moment. "Isn't it much more fun when you're on the offensive, too?"

And then Evra was punched in the stomach by one of the demon's enormous, scaly wings.

Caught by surprise, she staggered backwards, and her sword was yanked away from his throat. He surged to his feet and pounced at her in one fluid motion. She blocked a swipe of his claws with her sword, his long black nails screeching unpleasantly against the metal, but this left her open to a powerful kick from his talons. She stumbled further and further back as he unleashed a barrage of blows on her, some missing, some being blocked, but some hitting their marks. His taloned foot scored a deep gash in her calf; his claws gave her a series of painful cuts across her stomach, arms, and shoulders. He landed a punch on her left shoulder that was so strong she heard something crack, and as she skipped backwards, gasping at the burst of pain from the fracture, his other fist caught her square in the nose with a sickening _crunch_.

Evra went flying backwards to land hard on her back, blood gushing freely down her face. She choked back a cry of pain as her shoulder was jarred by the impact, but still managed to quickly roll aside as Ikurin's talons crashed into the spot where her head had been. She staggered to her feet, spitting blood, sapphire eyes streaming tears, though they were still cold and hard as diamond. Ike turned to face her, still grinning that manic grin. He opened his mouth to say something.

But she was not interested in listening. So instead she darted forward, sword clutched in her right hand, and slashed horizontally at his face. His reaction time was good, and he jerked his head back to avoid her, but the tip of her longsword slipped through his open mouth and sliced into the corner of his lips anyway, opening up his cheek halfway to the ear. The demon staggered backwards, letting out a hiss of pain as blood poured from the wound. The smile vanished from half of his face, while on the other half it was now gorily extended.

"You were _saying?"_ Evra snarled viciously before leaping at him again, sword whirring dangerously.

Ikurin ducked beneath her blade, delivering a crushing punch to her stomach on the way, and, in the same motion, hooked one arm around her back and spun, flinging her to the ground and eliciting a cry of pain as she landed directly on her fractured shoulder. He then wasted no time in leaping over and stomping one talon on her sword hand, raking the claws across her slim fingers when she did not let go. She hissed through her teeth at the pain, but still attempted to kick the demon's knees out from under him. The attempt failed, and ended with Ikurin pinning her bodily to the ground, claws pressed to the back of her neck.

"Checkmate," he said with that strange, hissing voice, face expressionless other than the gory mockery of a smile etched into his cheek.

"Right," called Kyrien's voice from across the field. "The last trial is over."

Ikurin stood, turned, and walked away without another word.

Evra stayed on the ground for a moment, wincing at her assortment of wounds. _Damn... If this had been a real fight, I'd be dead right now… Damn it all… _After a moment, she slowly staggered to her feet, her wings and sword fading from view. Wiping blood from her face with the back of one hand, she watched Ikurin walking back towards Kyrien and Zairus. His stride was somewhat less graceful now than it had been earlier, but he had gotten off more lightly than she had. She had underestimated him quite badly earlier, and these were the results of her overconfidence.

She slowly limped after him, approaching Zairus and Kyrien. Zairus was examining Ikurin with his eyebrow raised. "Well. She got you good with that one, didn't she?" he commented dryly, tracing a line up his own face from the corner of his mouth. "Though I guess you were asking for that. My golden rule: never stop to taunt an enemy who's less than ten feet away."

"Thanks for your words of wisdom, Zairus," came the reply, and even with his strange new voice, Ikurin's tone dripped with sarcasm.

Kyrien ignored them both, eyeing the approaching angel with an unreadable expression. After a moment of this, she smiled. "Why didn't you win, Tenshi-chan?" she inquired idly, tilting her head to one side. "You seemed so confident earlier. So why did you lose? Hm?"

Evra clenched her jaw and looked down, expression unreadable. After a few seconds of silence, she reached up with both hands, gripped her broken nose, and snapped it back into place, sending another gush of crimson blood flowing down her face. "I lost because Ikurin is stronger than I am," she admitted bitterly, wiping the back of her hand across her bloodied face and glaring down at the little girl with the raven on her shoulder. "And I am out of practice, as well. I will train while I am here. Is that _to your liking_, my _leader?"_ she spat harshly with biting sarcasm.

Kyrien examined her face for a long moment, icy eyes searching. Then she broke into a wide, impish grin. "It is," she consented, sounding rather satisfied and completely ignoring the angel's sarcasm. "Welcome to the resistance, Evra. I think you will do quite well here, in time." And with that, she turned away and began walking back towards the cave entrance, raising her hand and motioning for the others to follow. "Come, everyone. We're finished here. Ikurin, you may change back now."

Ikurin nodded curtly and stepped back as flames consumed him. As the fire burned, Zai strolled over to Evra, smiling at her lazily. "Not too bad, angel," he said smoothly, giving her a little wave as he turned towards the cave entrance. "You're definitely going to be a lot of trouble, but we do need all the help we can get, so I guess that's a small price to pay."

The angel's only response was an inelegant grunt. She carefully prodded her shoulder, wincing at the resultant jolt of pain. _Tch… This could take days to heal,_ she thought in irritation as she started after Kyrien and Zairus at a tired limp. _How inconvenient…_

Then the flames cleared, and the Ike that Evra had originally met came back into view. One hand was pressed gingerly against the corner of his mouth while the other lightly held his ribs where Evra had kicked him. His yellow eyes were wide and anxious. "Oh, geez," he cried, trotting to catch up with the angel, his now-normal voice concerned and remorseful, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done half that much damage. Are you okay? How's your shoulder? And your nose? And-"

"Do you have a split personality or something?" Evra cut him off flatly, giving him a blunt look as she wiped more blood off her face.

This brought him up short. He winced. "Um- a little- but not really- actually, it's kind of hard to explain," he said sheepishly after a pause, his posture apologetic. "It's more like-"

"I don't need to know the details," she interrupted again as they entered the inky darkness of the tunnels. She sighed in irritation at this inconvenience and stretched out her hand to summon her angelic blade.

"Um, I can handle the light, if you want," Ike offered hesitantly. When she gave him a look of blank incomprehension, he held out his own hand, cupped as though he were holding water in it. A small, flickering blue flame ignited in his palm, shedding cool light on the tunnel ahead. He kept the other hand over the wound on his face, almost self-consciously.

Evra stared at the flame in silence for a moment. Then she spoke, very slowly. "Ikurin. Do you have power over fire?"

"A bit," he said mildly, gazing absently into the flame. "I'm not one of those demons that can control all of the elements, but I do have some minor control over fire, yeah."

Evra looked ahead. Then she looked back. "Why didn't you use it?" She asked grudgingly.

He shot her a horrified look. "Why didn't you just stab me through the face when you had the chance?" he replied faintly. "We weren't trying to kill each other. And we weren't allowed to do permanent damage. Trying to fight you with fire under those circumstances would've been a lot more trouble than it was worth, especially since I don't have perfect control over it…"

"Hmph," was the angel's response as she looked forward again.

There was a brief pause. Then Ike glanced nervously ahead to where Kyrien and Zairus walked, farther down the tunnel. "You did really well, you know," he said very quietly, shooting her a furtive look. "Those were never supposed to be contests, either- Kyrien was just using me as a reference point to judge your abilities from. Based off your performance today, I think you're the second strongest in the group. I think Kyrien was impressed, too. But she told us not to praise you, even if you did better than expected."

"Then why are you praising me?" Evra asked dryly. She was not surprised at the setup of these tests or at Kyrien's instructions to the others- this had been partly about showing Evra that her arrogance was ill-founded, after all.

Ike grimaced, looking ahead again. "Because you actually did do well," he muttered sulkily, "so you deserve the credit. Plus, I beat you up pretty badly, so the least I could do is be honest with you. Please don't tell Kyrien I said anything," he added in a pleading tone, glancing at her with wide, innocent yellow eyes. They provided a jarring contrast with the luminous, feral predator's eyes she had seen in his face just minutes ago. It was rather disturbing.

Evra snorted, facing straight ahead, gathering what little dignity she had left around her like a cloak. "Don't be such a baby," she said acidly, raising her chin as she nursed her wounded pride. "I won't tell your precious leader anything. I would not give her the satisfaction."


End file.
